PHILADELPHIA – Three years removed from an Elite 8 run in the NCAA Tournament in 2014, University of Dayton alums Devin Oliver, Dyshawn Pierre and Vee Sanford will try to recapture their magic season with the Broad Street Brawlers in the West Region of The Basketball Tournament.
The format is exactly like March Madness - 64 teams play a single elimination tournament, divided into four regions - Charlotte, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Peoria, Ill. The Broad Street Brawlers are bidding to play in the Las Vegas (West) regional, which gets underway on July 15.
Teams qualify for TBT based upon their online popularity. Fans vote for who they want to see compete for the $2,000,000 winner-takes-all grand prize. To vote, simply follow the link below, create a fan account and vote in the Broad Street Brawlers.
https://thetournament.com/teams/broad-street-brawlers
Nine teams from each region will be selected for the tournament based on how many votes they receive from fans by June 1. Six at-large teams will be selected in each region. One team in each region will qualify through a separate tournament, the Play-In Jamboree (June 17-18).
Oliver was the MVP of the 2014 Flyer team, averaging 11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists that season. He's been playing professionally in the Slovenia A league for Union Olimpija. He was recently named the league's MVP after averaging 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in the regular season and is leading Olimpija in the championship round.
His teammate Pierre averaged a respectable 11.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game on the 2014 team, while Sanford chipped in with 9.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Both played in the top professional league in Germany this year.
Rounding out the roster for the Broad Street Brawlers are Butler's Kellen Dunham, Temple's Dalton Pepper, Richmond's Darrius Garrett, and Philadelphia University's Christian Burns.
TBT is the only event in the world in which the fans win money when their team wins the Championship. The top fans of the team that wins TBT will split $200,000, 10% of the total $2,000,000 grand prize.
The $2,000,000 winner will be crowned August 3 in Baltimore on ESPN.
